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| The galaxy's magnetic field (image source form ETH Zurich) |
Astronomers are on the hunt for magnetic fields in our galaxy that were born in the very early universe since they could provide a new way to study the big bang. Magnetic fields are thought to play an important role in star formation within galaxies, and the Milky Way is home to various types of field. Some come from stellar explosions, others from black holes, while some, known as primordial magnetic fields, are believed to come from rapid inflation thought to have occurred fractions of a second after the big bang.
As we know that the magnetic field in the Earth is coming from two poles, indeed, the north and south pole. With that field, our earth including the living thing (well, the human itself) is protected by the solar or any radiation that comes from the outer space. On the other hand, the Earth itself rotates while at the same time orbits to the Sun, which eventually the Sun orbits to the center of the Galaxy. Thus, what makes these planetary movements? Is it a force which is perhaps the magnetic force?
Then, a team of scientist from the University of Cambridge runs a model of simulation about the origin of the magnetic field.
We have never been able to tease these ancient fields apart from the others. We found a way to do so, and I was so surprised that they survived, - says Martin-Alvarez from the University of Cambridge
The team modelled the evolution of recent and primordial magnetic fields in the Milky Way. The group found that primordial magnetic fields always seemed to survive throughout time and could stay far stronger than previously thought, which is based on a previous study. The primordial magnetic fields seem to be distributed more towards the centre of the galaxy, while those that come from stars and black holes are more evenly distributed. The team hopes soon to calculate what astronomers will need to look out for to distinguish these ancient fields.
That could have big implications. If you can measure primordial magnetic fields in one galaxy, you could potentially measure the primordial magnetic field of the universe.